Former Warriors guard now has uncertain future after scarce opportunity

The future of Lester Quinones is now under question after the former Golden State Warriors guard was reportedly waived by the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday.

According to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype, the under pressure 76ers have waived Quinones in favor of signing 24-year-old Pete Nance to help solidify their big man department behind Joel Embiid and Andre Drummond.

Former Warriors guard Lester Quinones is now searching for a new home

Quinones went undrafted in 2022 but quickly signed a two-way contract with Golden State, before losing it just prior to the start of the 2022-23 season. He remained with the Santa Cruz Warriors in the G League where he won Most Improved Player, helping to re-establish a position on a two-way contract to close his rookie year.

The now 24-year-old remained on a two-way contract with the Warriors to start last season, with a few injury issues affording him some legitimate rotation minutes in January and early February. Quinones appeared in 37 games for Golden State last season, averaging 4.4 points, 1.9 rebounds and an assist on 36.4% 3-point shooting.

Despite some impressive moments with the franchise, the Warriors were clearly ready to move on from Quinones after failing to tender him a qualifying offer. As a free agent the 6'4" guard had to wait until late September to find a new NBA home, eventually signing with the 76ers on another two-way contract.

However, his time in Philadelphia has resulted as a brief one. Despite all of the 76ers injury woes amid a tough 4-14 opening to the season, Quinones appeared in only four games and only once played more than three and a half minutes.

There's certainly some talent to work with in Quinones' game, but whether he now gets another opportunity or not remains to be seen. It's fair to suggest it won't come with the Warriors, yet perhaps there's a rebuilding team that could offer the playing time to further his development.

Golden State's two-way slots are currently filled by Quinten Post, Reece Beekman and Pat Spencer. The latter has earned rotation minutes over the last two games against the Oklahoma City Thunder and Phoenix Suns, while Post is currently dealing with an injury and is yet to make his debut in the NBA.

Beekman has impressed in six G League games with Santa Cruz, with the 23-year-old averaging 18.3 points on 54.5% shooting while adding 5.8 rebounds, 7.3 assists and 3.0 steals per game.